MOGADISHU, Somalia

Somali rapper K'naan visits famine-struck homeland
Somali rapper K'naan visits famine-struck homeland
The Associated Press
MOGADISHU, Somalia
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somali rapper K'naan has brought his waving flag back home to help his countrymen as they struggle with a devastating famine.
The Somali-Canadian rapper made a brief visit Sunday to the capital, Mogadishu. He says he returned for the first time in decades to learn how he can help Somalis.
The U.N. says more than 3.2 million Somalis need food aid. The U.S. says 29,000 Somali children under age 5 have died.
K'naan was mobbed by famine refugees who tried to shake his hand or hug him as he toured Mogadishu's Banadir Hospital.
He did not perform his hit song "Wavin' Flag," which tells of the difficulties he faced growing up in the lawless, impoverished Horn of Africa nation. A revised version of that song was used for a Coca-Cola campaign when South Africa hosted the 2010 World Cup.